Career Center changes networking system

The ACU Career Center replaced ACU CareerLink in July with College Central Network, the nation’s largest network of college job seekers.

The Career Center looked to streamline the networking process and provide students an interface that was easy to use.

“It’s social networking to the max,” said Jessica Carrigan, senior management and marketing major from Tioga.

Carrigan works at the Career Center and identifies the program as easy to use for students and, most importantly, employers. She was the inaugural user of the new program and confirms its efficiency.

“Within three days, I had already been contacted by three different companies,” she said.

College Central Network allows students to specify searches between internships and full-time jobs. It also enables students to specify the employer, such as ACU or ACU alumni, said Carrigan.

“A lot of people will graduate and put job postings through College Central Network, to recruit people that they know,” she said.

College Central Network hosts an integrated resume builder that offers podcasts and tutorials to assist students. The Career Center approves each resume before it goes into the system and is open for employers to view.

“You also can build an online portfolio in the system to showcase and demonstrate your work to employers,” said Jill Fortson, director of the Career Center.

The new software allows companies to directly contact users and offers a wider variety of searches.

“Students can search jobs that the Career Center staff posts, search a national job board of over 500,000 additional postings and search a national internship board,” said Fortson.

The new system allows the Career Center to share upcoming events and opportunities via social media as well.

Fortson said the platform hosts numerous career advice resources that will be beneficial to students as they prepare for their careers after graduation.

The ACU Career Center has provided all registered students a complimentary College Central Network account.

“Accessing the system is simple,” Fortson said. “Visit the Career Center website and select the CollegeCentral.com image on the top right of the page.”

Login instructions can be found in an email the Career Center sent in early July.